One of our favorite fall activities is waiting until the sun goes down, making a bowl of popcorn, and watching a movie in the backyard. While you can purchase a movie screen online, we have found them to be flimsy and not hold up to the elements. Tim and I teamed up with Lowe’s to build our own affordable movie screen out of PVC that is sturdy and can easily be stored off season!
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This easy DIY only requires a few materials and tools. And you can get everything you need for this project at Lowe’s! Don’t miss our post on how we styled our backyard with Lowe’s for the coziest fall backyard movie night!
How To make a PVC frame
materials
- 8 pieces of 1″ pvc (it comes in 10 ft pieces)
- 6 – 1″ 90 degree tees
- 6 slip T’s (they come in a 4 pack)
- 2 – 1″ pvc caps
- 4 – 1″ 90 degree elbows
- 8″ ground stakes
tools
- measuring tape
- pencil or sharpie
- PVC cutter
- rubber mallet
- power drill
- 3/8 or 7/16 drill bit
Directions
1. Begin by cutting your PVC pipe into the below sizes with the PVC cutter.
2. Use the below images to guide you through how to assemble your cut pieces. To connect stubborn pieces, use the rubber mallet to gently tap on the end to push them together.
Note: for the slip tees, simply insert the top 90″ PVC through 3 of them. The tees will slide around for now. You will attach the back braces to them later.
3. The back portion of the frame helps to keep the entire structure sturdy and will attach to the back 20″ pieces of PVC as shown below. The remaining slip tees will be threaded onto the back 90″ PVC.
4. Once your screen is assembled, drill 7-8 holes into the base of your frame. Use a drill bit slightly larger than the size of your ground stakes. For these linked, you would use about a 3/8 or 7/16 inch drill bit.
How to make a Movie screen Out of a Bed Sheet
We made our original movie screen out of a thrifted white bedsheet! You can find the simple tutorial below! Alternatively, our new movie projector from Lowe’s came with it’s own screen which PERFECTLY fits the measurements of our DIY frame! We used these velcro straps to secure the screen to the frame. DIY’ers choice which screen you use!
materials for DIY screen
- white or cream king-sized flat bedsheet
- scissors
- measuring tape
- sewing machine or hot glue gun with glue sticks
Directions
1. Cut your sheet in half horizontally,
2. Lay the two pieces on top of each other
3. Measure out the width of your assembled movie frame and mark your sheet to be the same width. Sew or glue the left and right sides. You will now have a large “tube.”
4. Turn it inside out to hide the seams and slide over your movie frame.
NOTE: slide the screen onto the frame BEFORE attaching the 3 back braces.
When the screen gets dirty and at the end of the season, I simply throw the screen into the laundry and wash and dry it just like a bedsheet.
We leave the pvc frame out all summer and fall and disassemble it to store when the weather becomes too chilly.
Don’t miss all of our backyard favorites from Lowe’s for the perfect outdoor movie night whether you’re hosting the whole neighborhood or snuggled up with your family! We’ll be sharing our Fall backyard transformation and favorite finds next week!
xoxo, L
